Street Photography on a Rainy Day

Jama (Manabi Province) Ecuador — Yippee! Almost two months overdue, the rains are finally quenching Manabi’s thirst! Dodging lagoons of water at every corner this morning, I assumed that the gray skies would offer few opportunities for good photos. I was wrong.

Jaime, the fisherman, ignored the sprinkles.

The rains fell during the night then resumed again mid morning; there are countless music options for these images, but I’ll nudge Eddie Rabbit a bit closer to the equator to kick off these images:

No one seemed discouraged by the mud and water, though without boots, I skirted around mud and leaped across swollen pools of water throughout town. While enjoying a cup of coffee and an extra sour lemonade “sin azucar” (without sugar – to chase away an allergy) I was well entertained by Silvana’s nephew who sported a new pair of boots. He pranced past my table, climbed aboard his cousin’s new motorcycle and stole the show!

Double smiles – He has new boots AND is thrilled to watch over his cousin’s new motorcycle!

After a brief respite, the heavens opened and dumped more rain on the already-saturated town. For fifty cents, a mototaxi drove me to another area where a drawing lesson was scheduled for a group of young students. While waiting for the group to arrive, I was treated to another sideshow.

Most likely this is the first rain since they received their Christmas toys!

Oblivious to me, they paraded back and forth with their toys.

Saturday’s dreary start turned into a grand people-watching morning!

No one is grumbling about the rains, and in another week the landscape will transform into a wonderland of life-giving green.

There’s no need to get wet while perusing the fresh fruits and vegetables!

I am now on my way to Guayaquil to meet another tour group. The Claro USB modem has declared Casa Loca an “Invalid SIMcard” spot, though it works when closer to the tower, any tower, except the one located 5K from the house! The good news is that the electricity did not fail during these last rains!

Rain or shine, I continue to embrace the local colors along the line of the middle of the world!

Old Freddy Fender too, you really got me goinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2GmzyeeXnQ I often use music to hype up my mood. Also you put in your posts photos of every day people that provoke in me a good feeling, that we are a family that is how you inspire me and I am sure others too. _/\_

Frank, who is helping his cousins at that resturant, has been talking aboutthe new motorcycle he planned to buy, and we all knew he would be buying it soon. I don’t think anyone was happier than Mateas, and his entire body reflects that joy!

Frank watched lovingly from afar and never scolded or chastised him – just watched to be sure he remained safe.

Hi Janet! Yes, we lose many people way too young, and even when they’ve reached a bit older, we still miss their presence in our lives…. I think of you often and know that Wayne smiles down on all of us. Z

They are! As I watched those lads play in the water, I recalled when I stomped and splashed in crystal-clear waters in my parent’s yard – one spring day when we returned home from church. Later when I went inside, my mother took one look at my shoes and exclaimed, “LISA! You’ve ruined your shoes!” I had forgotten all about my pretty black suede shoes, and my worry/guilt of disappointing my mother negates the joy of splashing. Sigh, we have valuable lessons to learn, and I learned many with that experience!

We, like you, reveled in the life giving rain on Saturday knowing how important it is for the local fincas. Our hillside was already turning green, but should explode in colors this next week. Thanks for the photos of Manabitan smiles!

you’re welcome, and i just clicked the link to your most-recent post.. heading there now… am in gye and will b meeting another group in the mnana.. i also have slight ‘allergy’ so am coddling my upper respirtory and getting lots of rest …

There’s nothing like the arrival of rains, especially if they’ve dallied a bit. I love seeing people who can live in harmony even with the rain — not only the children, but that wonderful umbrella on the back of the fruit and vegetable truck. Life goes on!

And the last photo of the boobies is just phenomenal. They make me laugh every time I see them, even if they aren’t doing anything but standing around.

Take care of yourself. It may be that the rains will help that upper respiratory thing. The cedar fever season wasn’t so bad here this year, because we had enough rain and dampness to keep the pollen count down a good bit. Maybe the rain will wash your air for you.

The children playing in the rain brought back memories of my childhood delight when the rains came. We were pleased to have some rain here today to dampen the terrible dust raised by the winds of the past few days. Love the little one enjoying the motorbike.